True Blue (album)
True Blue is the third studio album by American recording artist Madonna. The album was released on June 30, 1986, by Sire Records. Background She worked with Stephen Bray and Patrick Leonard on the album while co-writing and co-producing all the songs. Deemed as Madonna's most girlish album, True Blue deals with her visions of love, work, dreams as well as disappointments, and was inspired by her then husband Sean Penn, to whom Madonna dedicated the album. Musically, the songs on the album took a different direction from her previous endeavours, incorporating classical music in order to engage an older audience who had been skeptical of her music. Packaging Artist Andy Warhol's concept of pop art was one of the inspirations behind the album artwork. The album cover, shot by photographer Herb Ritts, is one of Madonna's most recognizable pictures. It features a picture of Madonna from the neck up. The main colors in the picture are gray, white and various shades of blue to reinforce the album's title. Madonna positioned herself in an elegant pose while wearing pale make up with red lips, tilting back her neck in a swan like pose. Jeri Heiden, who was working at Warner Bros. art department, was given the task of editing the photos and making them compatible for appearance in an album cover. Heiden ordered about 30 to 40 test prints from Ritts' studio and made recommendations based on it. Several images from the photo shoot were considered for the album cover, some of which later became the single covers for "Papa Don't Preach", "True Blue" and "Open Your Heart". The final photo was selected by Madonna, Heiden and Jeff Ayeroff, creative director of Warner Bros. at that time. After the final photo was selected, Heiden commissioned two different versions of the album cover. The original image was taken in black-and-white, and Heiden experimented with a variety of treatments of the photo, to go along with the album's title, and finally arrived at the blue toned, hand tinted version of the image. The LP and CD album cover is a cropped image of a longer picture including torso, more of which is seen in the cover of the cassette tape edition, and was also included as a fold-out poster in the initial pressings of the LP. A poster of Madonna, mirroring the cover art, was included within the vinyl versions of the album. In the US and Canada, the cover did not have any logo, but in the European nations, they were sold with Madonna's name and album title on the cover. For the European nations, Warner felt that the name was needed on the cover, as they did not want to take chance with Madonna's popularity there. The back sleeve and the booklet inside featured the song titles in Heiden's own handwriting. Background and development The album was inspired by and dedicated to actor Sean Penn, Madonna's husband at the time. On March 6, 1986, at the Kensington Roof Gardens in London, during a press conference for Shanghai Surprise, Madonna confirmed that she was working on a new album named Live to Tell, which would be later changed to True Blue. She again collaborated with Stephen Bray who had worked on her previous album'' Like A Virgin, and began to work with Patrick Leonard for the first time. Madonna wrote or co-wrote every song on the album, although writing involvement on some songs such as Papa Don't Preach and Open Your Heart was limited to adding lyrics. She was also credited with co-producing every track. The album was recorded in early 1986, during the first year of Madonna's marriage to American actor Sean Penn, the one who Madonna is dedicating the album to. Tracklisting # Papa Don't Preach (4:29) by Brian Elliot and Madonna; produced by Madonna & Stephen Bray # Open Your Heart (4:13) by Madonna, Gardner Cole and Peter Rafelson; produced by Madonna & Patrick Leonard # White Heat (4:40) & produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard # Live To Tell (5:51) & produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard # Where's the Party (4:21) & produced by Madonna, Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray # True Blue (4:18) & produced Madonna & Stephen Bray # La Isla Bonita (4:02) by Madonna, Patrick Leonard, Bruce Gaitsch; produced by Madonna & Patrick Leonard # Jimmy Jimmy (3:55) & produced by Madonna & Stephen Bray # Love Makes the World Go Round (4:31) by Madonna & Patrick Leonard Singles 1. 'Live to Tell 'was the first single released from the album in March 1986. The song was the second ballad for Madonna after "Crazy For You", and was used in the film At Close Range which starred her then husband Sean Penn. The song was received positively by critics with most of them calling it "her best ballad to date" as well as a "tremendous ballad that rewrites the rules of adult contemporary crossover". "Live to Tell" became Madonna's third number one single on the Billboard Hot 100. 2. '''Papa Don't Preach '''was released as the second single in June 1986. It was critically appreciated with most of them declaring it as "the stand-alone song" from the album. The song became Madonna's fourth number-one single in the U.S. and also reached the top spot in Canada, Ireland, Italy, and the United Kingdom. 3. '''True Blue '''was released as the third single in September 1986. It received generally positive reviews. A journalist stated that the song is "the light-hearted, fun track of the whole ''True Blue album project having a retro 1950's feel to it." The song topped the charts in UK, Ireland and Canada. It reached no. 3 in the Billboard Hot 100 for 3 consecutive weeks. 4. '''Open Your Heart '''was released as the fourth single in November 1986. It was well-received by critics, praising the simplicity of the love song. The song was a commercial success, reaching the top-ten of the charts in Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, and the UK, also reaching the top of the Billboard Hot 100. 5. '''La Isla Bonita '''was released as the fifth and final single in February 1987. The song received positive reviews. It was stated as one of the greatest, most influencial and timeless songs. The song topped the charts in countries such as Austria, Canada, France, Germany and Switzerland. It became Madonna's fourth number-one single in the United Kingdom, giving her a record for most number-one singles among female artists. The song reached number 4 in the Billboard Hot 100. Live_to_Tell_single_cover.jpg|Live To Tell's single cover. Madonna-Papa-Dont-Preach-5378.jpg|Papa Don't Preach's single cover. Madonna-True-Blue-5380.jpg|True Blue's single cover. Open_Your_Heart_1986.png|Open Your Heart's single cover. La_Isla_Bonita_single_cover.jpg|La Isla Bonita's single cover. Critical Reception The album received generally positive reviews from music critics. Music critics praise the fact that Madonna's voice sounded stronger than it did on her previous efforts. Jon Pareles, in a review for The New York Times, said that True Blue reprised the themes of fidelity in its songs and complimented her addition of a tinge of real world storytelling in her songs, making her reach the "fringes of the permissible". Stephen Holden in another review complimented the album and said that "Madonna goes heavy on heart in this record". In a Rolling Stone review, Davitt Sigerson stated that Madonna was "singing better than ever." The album's songs were called "catchy", but Sigerson also commented on the lack of outstanding songs. He ultimately stated that the album is a "sturdy, dependable, lovable new album" which "remains faithful to her past while shamelessly rising above it." Stephen Thomas Erlewine, in a review for Allmusic, declared it as "one of the great dance-pop albums, a record that demonstrates Madonna's true skills as a songwriter, record-maker, provocateur, and entertainer through its wide reach, accomplishment, and sheer sense of fun." He further explained "what's brilliant about True Blue is that she does both here, using the music to hook in critics just as she's baiting a mass audience with such masterstrokes as "Papa Don't Preach," where she defiantly states she's keeping her baby. It's easy to position anti-abortionism as feminism, but what's tricky is to transcend your status as a dance-pop diva by consciously recalling classic girl-group pop *True Blue, Jimmy Jimmy*, to snag the critics, while deepening the dance grooves *Open Your Heart, Where's the Party*, touching on Latin rhythms La Isla Bonita, making a plea for world peace *Love Makes the World Go Round*, and delivering a tremendous ballad that rewrites the rules of adult contemporary crossover *Live to Tell*. Category:Albums